1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and method for effectively recycling hot water(i.e., heated water or warm water) in a complex power generation system.
2. Description of the Related Art
At present, electric energy used in buildings is generated by thermal or hydro power stations. Furthermore, electric energy generated by the power stations is supplied to buildings or homes in each region through a transmission line, and the supplied electric energy allows fluorescent lamps, refrigerators, air conditioners, and the like to be operated, thereby making our lives more convenient and productive.
However, thermal energy is converted to electric energy by burning oil or coal in a power station to obtain the electric energy being used at present, and thus the power generation efficiency thereof may be very low compared to that of the used fuel energy, and also a lot of energy loss may occur during the process of supplying the electric energy generated by the power station to buildings in each region through a transmission line, and as a result, the efficiency of electric energy used in each building may be very low compared to the consumption of fuel energy. In other words, excessively a lot of fuel energy may be consumed to obtain electric energy used in each building. In addition, owing to this, there is a problem of causing environmental pollution due to the combustion pollutants produced by burning a lot of fuel energy such as oil or coal.
In recent years, fuel cells for providing an excellent energy efficiency as well as eco-friendly generating electric energy have been developed. The fuel cells may be largely divided into four types such as a Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell (PAFC), a Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC), a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC), a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC), and the like.
Fuel cell is an electrochemical apparatus for directly converting chemical energy into electrical energy by means of an electrochemical reaction, and the basic principle lies in that hydrogen or pure hydrogen obtained by reforming fossil fuels such as petroleum, natural gas, and the like is reacted with oxygen in the air to extract electric energy, and at this time, heat and vapor (water) are produced as by-products.
Accordingly, a complex power generation system for increasing a waste heat recovery rate using waste heat generated from fuel cells may be considered to enhance a heating performance.